Motor skill learning in autism

Although current research efforts have made strides in understanding the social, communication, and movement impairments that define autism, the neurologic basis of the disorder remains unclear. Given that autism is a developmental disorder, insight into its neurologic basis could be gained from careful investigation of processes important for acquiring (i.e., learning) specific skills. The hypothesis of this study is that deficits in procedural learning, particularly learning acquired through imitation, could help to explain the abnormal development of social, communicative, and motor skills characteristic of autism. The goals of this proposal are to determine the common factors underlying motor learning deficits in autism, to examine the relationship of motor learning deficits to the social, communication, and movement impairments that characterize autism, and to investigate the neurologic contributions to these deficits using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Knowledge about the nature of procedural learning deficits in children with autism could provide insights into the neurologic basis of the disorder as well as insights that are potentially useful to help guide behavioral, educational, and other therapeutic interventions.